Little Skull on the Prairie
by JoeMerl
Summary: Crimson is depressed, until Ennui finds something to help cheer her up. Set during "Little Bull on the Prairie," written for the Crimsennui Week prompt "'Til Death Do Us Part."


**Author's Notes:** I already had this idea, and since it more-or-less fits with one of the prompts for Crimsennui Week I decided to write it out. I hope you enjoy!

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Ennui was frowning (more than usual) as the Goths left the dude ranch and made for the Chill Zone. He should have been happy; they were in first place, due to his girlfriend's impressive bull-riding abilities. But it was hard to be excited when Crimson was obviously so upset.

He wondered if he should say something—but then, he had never been particularly good with words. Plus Crimson could get so moody when something was bothering her; usually it was better if he didn't go and get all emotional too.

Ennui was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to notice when Loki started to chitter wildly, waving his paws to get his attention. Ennui looked up just in time to see the obstacle on the path before he hit it. Loki let out a squeak and scurried onto the back of his master's head as Ennui fell face-first to the ground.

"Ow."

"You okay?" Crimson asked, helping him up as Loki hopped down to his shoulder.

"Yeah," said Ennui, slowly running his hands over his shirt to wipe off the dust. Then, "Whoa. Look what I tripped over."

"Oh, wow."

It was a cow's skull, half-buried in the dirt. Crimson crouched down to examine it. "Is this real, or just part of the phony cowboy décor?"

"I think it's real. Look—there's still some skin rotting behind the right horn."

"A real-life _memento mori._ Awesome."

They stared at the skull for a long moment, not speaking. Crimson was the one to break the silence.

"You know...it's funny. Finding something so cool in a place like this."

The Surfer Dudes ran past, cheering wildly, but Ennui barely noticed as he looked up to stare at his girlfriend.

"You really don't like it here, do you?"

"It's not so bad. I mean...whatever."

"Hmm."

They contemplated the skull for another long moment.

"You know what I just realized?" Ennui asked.

"What?"

"However dull and empty this place is...this cow is free now," Ennui said, motioning to the skull. "With the end of its life, it managed to escape a lifeless existence."

"And yet, it's still here, buried before our eyes. On some level, you can never escape. Your past is like an anchor, dragging you down into the cold, black waters of the ocean depth."

"Whoa. That's dark."

"I guess." Crimson shifted her weight the tiniest bit. "I mean...it's not _so_ bad. The cow was probably happy here." Her eyes moved away from the skull to the ground beside it. "It's not like I don't love my family. But they're just so...you know."

"Yeah."

There was another long pause of them just staring at the skull, unaffected by the shouts of the Haters as they passed. ("Hurry UP, Ryan!" "I AM HURRYING, WOMAN!")

"Hey...this might sound stupid, but...the next time you go to your grandmother's farmhouse, would it be alright if I came along?"

For the first time Crimson turned away from their discovery to stare at him, blinking slowly.

"If you want. But it's really dull."

"Everything's dull when you leave."

"One of my cousins will hate you on sight. The rest will try to hug you. And there are a _lot_ of cute animals."

"I'll live."

A moment passed, and then, without another word, both of them took hold of the other's hand, letting their arms hang limply between them.

"Come on, homie!"

"Wait up, Devin!"

Devin ran past, followed by Carrie, who was clutching at a stitch in her side. Loki nudged the side of Ennui's head impatiently.

"We should probably go now."

"Yeah."

They let go of each other's hand, Ennui put Loki back into his shirt and they ran to the Chill Zone after the Best Friends.

Don looked annoyed as they finally arrived. "What happened to you two? You were the first to finish the bull ride!"

"Yeah, but then we found a skull rotting in the sun, so..."

"Nope! No-no, stop talking, forget I asked. You're team number four, _go._ "

They walked off. The three other teams were lounging a few meters outside the cameras' range, but Crimson said "Wanna head back to the ranch? You'll need to start getting used to it if you really want to visit my family."

Ennui almost smiled. "Sure."


End file.
